Got your nose!
by imdreamingoutloud
Summary: A short little ficlet about the incident in the pet store with turtle Giuseppe and how he didn't like Sheldon's game of "Got your nose" too much...


With a quiet sigh Amy walked past the puppy section again. Sheldon had demanded that he wanted to get into physical contact with the turtle they… well… _he_ had picked.

"Keeping those little cuties behind glass. That is preposterous." He had complained and had managed to make people around them stare. Amy had assured him to find a clerk so Sheldon would stop nagging and drawing attention.

She found a young man in the cat food isle and walked over to him, a friendly smile on her lips. "Excuse me?"

He almost dropped a can and turned around nervously. Shyly and sheepishly he peeked through his thick glasses. "Y-yes?"

"I need help in the reptile section" Amy felt sorry for him. That could have been her in her teenage years – having to work with people whilst finding it completely awkward. She tried her best to keep her voice as quiet and calm as possible but still it seemed like he broke down under the sound, and the look from her emerald eyes.

He just nodded and as she smiled reassuringly, he blushed and quickly hurried past her. Amy followed him, having a hard time keeping track.

When they arrived, Amy pointed over at her boyfriend. "There"

The clerk shuffled over to the turtle terrarium and shot a nervous glance at Sheldon.

"He wants to hold the turtle" Amy explained for her boyfriend.

"Not only hold" Sheldon corrected her immediately. "I want to bond with him. And his name is Giuseppe. Don't call him turtle. I don't call you just human."

The neurobiologist rolled her eyes and nodded.

In the meantime the clerk seemed confused but he still opened the lid. With a happy smile Sheldon got down on his knees again. "Peek-a-boo!"

"Thanks for your help" Amy mumbled, ignoring the now slightly frightened look of the clerk. He nodded and seemed more than happy to be able to get away from them.

"Well, it's time to get my little baby out there" Sheldon wrinkled his nose and his voice had become unnaturally high-pitched.

Amy's eyebrows had knitted while she watched him stick his hands into the terrarium, lifting the little reptile out of it.

He sat it on his left hand, eyes sparkling, and looked at Amy. "Isn't he perfect?"

She stepped next to Sheldon and looked at the little creature. "He's cute"

Sheldon smiled at their future pet and then carefully poked his nose. It only took seconds before he inhaled deeply, a seemingly brilliant idea popping into his mind.

"Hold him!" He pushed the turtle into Amy's hands.

Then he got his face close to it and poked its nose again. "Got it!"

"Sheldon, I don't know if that's a good id…"

"Got it! Got your nose!"

"Sheldon…"

"Got it!"

Amy just took a breath again to tell him her concerns, as she already saw the turtle move its head forward quickly.

"OW OW OW!" Sheldon jumped back, holding his index finger.

Amy was so perplexed that she didn't react right away and apparently too slow for Sheldon's liking.

"PUT IT BACK OR IT WILL MAUL YOU, TOO!"

Once again the physicist had managed to draw all the attention to them and this time a guy that looked an awful lot like the manager, hurried over to them with a worried expression on his face.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, slightly out of breath, looking around between Sheldon and Amy.

"Take this thing out of my woman's hands before something else happens!" Sheldon cried with a mix of anger and anxiety.

The guy looked at the little turtle in her hands and then at her. Amy just shrugged apologizing and handed him the reptile, before she went over to Sheldon.

"I'm okay, calm down" She murmured in the softest tone possible. "You're going to be alright, nothing happened, you're just in shock."

The manager, who had put the poor little turtle back into the terrarium, insecurely came back to them. He looked at the single blood drop that was showing on Sheldon's index finger and then knitted his eyebrows, not too happy about the fuss this customer had made for apparently nothing.

"May I help you with anything else?" He grumbled in a sour tone of voice.

"Maybe a band-aid?" Amy smiled at him, hoping it would calm him down, but it didn't seem to help much. He stormed off and disappeared behind a door in the back of the pet store.

"It bit me" Sheldon almost sobbed, looking terrified and a little disappointed.

Amy took his hand with the injured finger into hers and softly caressed it. "You will be okay. We're going to put a band-aid on it and in a few days you won't be seeing anything anymore."

"Okay" Sheldon nodded, trying to look down, but one of Amy's fingers instantly pushed his chin back up.

"We both know you can't see blood, Sheldon. Don't do this. For the sake of everyone here."

He wanted to object but then he realized she was right. Son of a biscuit. He nodded and sighed, shooting a death glare towards the terrarium.

The manager had gotten back from wherever he had gone and handed Amy the band-aid without any further word. She thanked him and then turned to Sheldon, carefully placing it on the bite and wrapping it around his slim finger. "Okay. Done."

Hesitatingly Sheldon looked down but he could see nothing but the band-aid. No blood. No wound. He sighed in relief.

Amy couldn't help but grin. She tiptoed for a second to quickly but softly kiss him on the cheek and then turned around. "I suppose we are done here?"

"Oh yes, we are so done here!" Sheldon nodded. "Let's go home. I need some tea. But first… let's get past those puppies again"

He took a deep breath as if he had to walk through glowing embers and started marching away. Amy shook her head and smiled, following him out of the pet store.


End file.
